Let us celebrate you Beijing, because it's nearing our time to mourn you

The Last Morning.

We decided to spend it wandering the Emperor's Gardens, found across the street from the Forbidden City. (And, not to interrupt myself, but to give you pause to consider: this picture might give you a clue as to why I was considered a freak o' nature throughout my trip....)

The first thing we saw when we entered the garden was this lake of lotus flowers surrounded by a ring of willow trees, floating & swaying in the breeze.

We quickly decided we needed to become one with the lotus, so we hopped aboard this boat.

We reveled in the peace of it all, as we slowly meandered through the water.

Then, I fell in love.

It was difficult to part from our prime seating, but when the boat reached the dock we hopped on out for there were many other parts of the park to explore.

Eventually we had to say good-bye to the Garden, because it was about the time for

The Last Afternoon.

Across the street from the park was another Lotus lake, with an even larger attraction: The Lotus Market.

Yi-Ting and I had already scoped out the place, but we thought Yu-Chen should see it.

We settled into some lakeside seating for lunch, and then Yu-Chen and I hit the shops while Yi-Ting went off and amused herself elsewhere.

We browsed and bought for a few hours, until it was time to find Yi-Ting and head to the Silk Market.

They offered much more than silk, as you can see.

After shrewdly bargaining our way through the place, Yi-Ting and I left Yu-Chen there and went to find some food.

We had to face the facts.

 It was time for--

Our Last Dinner.

(I think this is supposed to be me, looking sad...)

After we were nourished by the Chinese for the last time, I made my way home to our apartment/hotel while Yi-Ting went to find some opera.

I packed my bags.

I reflected quietly on the weeks behind me.

I thought: "Good."

The next morning our taxi rolled us to the airport and we flew across the ocean on a long journey home.

Do not be sad, however.  Your time to mourn is not quite here, because there are still a few more moments that I want to share with you.  Goodies like an old beggar man that I bonded with, a Dutch cannon that I found my heritage in, and more about those incredible hot springs.

So, my friends, thank you for reading and for your supportive thoughts.  The Finale is still to come!

Ok Beijing, what's left?

My second week in Beijing involved daily walks past this unique structure, in transit from the conference to our efficiency apartment/hotel.  To keep you on your toes a bit, I'm not going to tell you what it is--you'll just have to be patient.  [If you know the answer--don't tell.]

Also nearby our apartment/hotel was a mall with a grocery store that sold the pure bliss that is green tea ice cream, as well as a bakery that dealt in deliciousness by the loaf.  

We practically moved in.  In our heads, we referred to the mall as "ours".  We felt in control of our worlds as we bought lunch for the next day and snacks for at night.   

It was a very well situated apartment/hotel.

Another benefit to our place of residence was that we could book ourselves a sight-seeing tour.

That would be why I found my solitary-white-person self on this bus one day, gleaning as much knowledge as I could from the non-English speaking tour guide.  

She had a lot to say.

I understood none of it.

[It's a good thing I had my very own personal translators with me...]

Our first stop was at the Ming Tombs, which is exactly what it sounds like:

Tombs, where the important people of the Ming Dynasty were buried.

With a lot of expensive things.

Like Jade and Jewels.

In the background here you see the entrance to the Tombs, and in the foreground is the entrance back into the world.  My translators helped me understand that it would be awkward for all present if I tried to walk through that foreground gate on my way in--did I want to acknowledge that I was heading into the land of the dead?  

They suggested that I did not, and should only walk through it on my return.  

They also informed me that--if I was so inclined--I could tap the foundation of this gate with my toe, 3 times, to shake off any evil spirits I might have picked up.  

[I was not--as it turns out--thus inclined, so hopefully the only thing I picked up while up in the Tombish region was this picture of the entrance from behind...]

After visiting a jade factory nearby and getting some lunch, we were taken to a hospital started by an ancient Emperor's doctor.  We were educated in traditional Chinese methods of medicine, and I got my pulse checked to see if all was well with my internal organs.  [Good news--if my translators are to be trusted, I'm as healthy as a horse.]

Next was the moment we'd all been waiting for--the drive to the Great Wall.

It's a good thing we didn't know what else the Great Wall held in store for us, or we might have committed mutiny on our poor little tour guide in our hurry to get there:  

1) Pits of fighting bears.  

[Well, ok, they weren't all fighting.  It's just a lot more interesting if I suggest that they were. Some, as you can see, were merely teetering.]

2) The rickety cable car to take us up

3) The ridiculous line that I would prefer to call a riot to get onto the cable car. 

[There is no such thing as "oh, here--you go first" in China...]

4) My moments of celebrity, of course.  

[Interestingly enough:  I noticed that the people on our bus--who up until this point had only stared at me, pushed me, and shook their umbrellas in my face--suddenly started paying me a lot of superfluous attention on the Wall and once we started driving again.  Big smiles, big waves, inquisitive looks toward the back where we were sitting of "who are you because I'd really like to get my picture taken with you but I've been so rude to you thus far I don't know how you'd react if I asked?"...really nice things like that.  My reaction to this turn of events was "Sorry people, all I can offer you is this authentic American saying: too little, too late.  I'm from New Jersey, which means I'm angry."  It's a good thing I don't speak their language.  And that my translators slept on my shoulders the whole way home.]

All of those things were just bonuses, however.

The real draw is the Wall itself.

Steep in places.

Steeper in others.

Cascading.

Curiously winding.

Amazing.

On our way back down to our waiting bus, I shared with this hungry bear a roasted corn cob that I bought from a vendor for practically nothing.  He was really grateful for the attention.  

He asked me to liberate him, and take him to see The Birds Nest.  Apparently he had been hoping to partake in The Beijing 2008 Olympics with his teetering skills, but couldn't make his way to freedom in time.

Though it was tempting to alleviate some of my New Jersey anger by introducing him to my new tour group friends, I chose to return to our apartment/hotel without him.

He'll just have to see these Olympic buildings some other time.

Just like you'll have to wait for the last [2, maybe 3] installments of my China Travelogue...

[But never fear.  Your wait shouldn't be nearly as long as his, poor guy...]

Sunday Peace--in Beijing, in my Heart

Yes--our day started peacefully, on the patio of our hotel.

We reveled in our food, knowing it was our last morning of tranquility before the inevitable conferencing that was kicking off later that evening. 

We drank our warm beverages slowly, while soaking in the heat of the morning and the view.

When we were finished, we headed over to the Lama Temple so that Yi-Ting could take my picture by this door.

There were a multitude of doors--and buildings to wander through.  The Temple used to be a palace complex, but was turned into a Buddhist compound in the 1700s.

There are numerous incense burners outside of the buildings, and lining the street outside the compound are store after store offering sticks of incense for sale--for those looking to offer it to the idols found inside.

A variety of these Buddhist statues fill each of the buildings, and I was longing to take pictures so that I'd remember the strangeness of them for posterity.  There were signs posted everywhere saying photography is not allowed of them, however, so out of respect for this religion I am an outsider of, I have no pictures to offer you. 

Instead, let me share with you what I was thinking as I wandered around observing the practices of the people who were there less for sight-seeing and more for worshiping;

my thoughts as I gazed at the immobile and sometimes terrifying faces of the statues, as I watched people lay their unlit incense at the feet of them,  as I saw fruit and other items placed as sacrifices on tables nearby.

As I watched people show devout reverence toward these external structures,

as I watched them bow 3 times in a row with incense held at their foreheads, and as I felt the urgency flowing from their movements.

As I prayed in my heart to a Living God that is with me always, and dwelt gratefully in the peace of walking with him through the chaos around me.

I thought about the reality of Christ in me, the significance of what Paul meant when he said "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?".   I thought about how Christ calls me by name, and promises to be my Counselor.  I reflected on the peace of knowing that I do not have to beg for grace, or pray for it without knowing if I will receive it, but that I can count on it--as a child dearly loved. 

If I had spoken the language of the earnest people around me, I would have asked them "Are any of these thoughts true for you?"  

I would have asked them if they find security, direction, wisdom.  Love that cannot be lost, redemption.  Peace.

Because if they don't? Then what I was observing all seems like a tragedy of wasted time, and I want to understand why they do it. I want to understand what the treasure is.  The point.

I found myself thinking some of the same things at our next stop--The Temple of Confucius.  Seen here in wooden depiction, Confucius is known for being a philosopher and teacher (and much more, of which I am unsure of the details....)

He was also a proponent of musical instruments such as these:

And since Yi-Ting and I are such dedicated musicians and scholars, we decided that we liked him.  We probably would have been good friends, had we shared a portion of a century together.

Our time with him was a good way to remind us that next on our agenda was to check out of our hotel and find our new one, so that we could get that conferencing going.

So that we could glean more wisdom about our roles as musicians, scholars, and teachers.

Sadly, however, I think he'd most likely be disappointed in us.  See, we didn't last long at that conference before we realized there was so much more to see in the city that we were quickly becoming sad to leave.

[More accurately, it was that peace that I'd found that didn't last long, as the cranky monster that hates all things academic took up residence in my soul and caused me to claw my way out of the conference center....] 

So stay tuned for my final days in Beijing--the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs, the Beihai Gardens.  They are all awaiting our arrival...